Traditional helium filled balloons, whether used as novelties or displays, have been around for well over a century. Such traditional helium-filled balloons are generally made from latex or Mylar, however, these materials are limiting. For example, latex oxidizes quickly losing its elastic quality becoming brittle and deformed. In addition, latex poses a problem as it is a serious allergen for many people. Mylar, on the other hand quickly loses helium across its thin surface membrane limiting its ability to remain aloft for any significant amount of time.
Perhaps most limiting on such traditional balloons is the scarcity and expense of available helium. For example, the U.S. alone produces 75 percent of the world's helium. However, a lack of private sector helium producers, federal regulations and decline in U.S. Federal Helium Reserves have resulted in significant price increases and dwindling supplies of commercially available helium. Much of the available helium gas is currently being diverted to industrial and/or medical uses, such as MRI's, cryogenic preservation as well as scientific applications such as particle accelerators. Under these conditions, it is simply not cost effective to continue production of helium-dependent balloons.
Apart from these cost concerns, traditional helium based balloons also exhibit several functional disadvantages. First, helium is the second lightest element making it significantly lighter than air. While this imparts the typical “floating” characteristic of helium balloons, the helium is also known to be a very active gas, i.e. exhibits a high degree of Brownian atomic movement. As a result of helium's small size and high activity, traditional helium balloons rapidly lose their chemical equilibrium as the helium contained within the body of the balloon passes through the balloon membrane to the external environment. This results in a sagging appearance as well as the all too familiar “sinking” as the lighter than air helium escapes into the surrounding air. While a thicker membrane would slow this process, the additional weight would overcome the loft provided by the lighter-than-air helium rendering this option ultimately ineffective. The limitations have rendered helium-based balloons and display systems inefficient and uneconomic.
To overcome these limitations, helium-free balloon systems have been developed in recent years. However, such systems are also limited in several significant ways. The most obvious problem with such helium-free or “air-only” balloons is that they are not lighter than air and must rely on external supports or attachments to achieve the distinctive appearance common to helium-based balloons. Such helium-free balloon systems may also be limited by traditional materials. For example, traditional helium-free balloons may be made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC). However, PVC balloons possess several draw-backs limiting their commercial usefulness. First, PVC is a source of phthalates which are known to be toxic and further cannot easily be recycled. In addition, in cold weather PVC helium-free balloons become brittle, less elastic and deformed.
Traditional manufacturing methods and materials for such helium-free balloons may also have significant limits to their practical and economic potential. Typically, traditional helium free balloons are formed from disparate pieces of shaped plastic or PVC being placed together and physically sealed. Such material surfaces cannot be too thick or they may be prohibitively heavy and/or expensive and cannot be efficiently supported by external displays. Nor can these material surfaces be too thin or they will be prohibitively fragile and will not effectively hold pressurized air. Regardless of the final thickness, the resulting seams provide structural weakpoints which are prone to tear, as well as allow pressurized gas to more rapidly escape resulting in unwanted sagging and deflation. Moreover, pressure differences between the high-pressure air inside a traditional helium-free balloons and the external environment may be especially pronounced during temperature changes, such as occur at night when the internal air pressure decreases, again resulting in unwanted sagging and deflation.
In addition, traditional seamed construction processes may also result in an unacceptably high defect rate. For example, it is currently estimated within the industry that as many as 5% of all traditional “seam” constructed helium-free balloons exhibit some type of manufacturing defect. Such defective products are difficult and costly to detect prior to any final end-user sale resulting in a significant waste of time, effort and resources. Traditional seamed structures are also limited by size. Naturally the larger the helium-free balloon, the larger the total surface area of the seam portions along its surface. This increased seam surface area not only increases the rate of manufacturing defects and therefore cost, but exaggerates the air-pressure loss and temperature-based fluctuations described above. Again, this deflation effect is more pronounced in cold weather conditions. As such, there is a need for a single comprehensive solution to the limitations described above.